Over the years, basketballs have been standardized into an eight-panel outer surface design having raised seams exposed between the edges of exterior skin panels. High quality basketballs generally consist of an inner rubber bladder surrounded by a layer of winding. The winding is covered by an additional thin layer of high density black rubber. The arrangement of bladder, winding, and surrounding rubber layer are placed in a mold and cured to create the "carcass" of the ball.
The color of the rubber layer surrounding the winding and, consequently, the outer surface of the carcass is black. During the carcass molding process, raised ridges or black seams are molded from the rubber layer. Individual panel sections of leather are bonded to the rubber layer in the areas between the raised seams. After attachment of the panels the ball is completed in a finishing mold.
Basketballs have been made in the above manner for many, many years. The winding layer limits expansion of the bladder and assists it in retaining a spherical shape after inflation to a recommended pressure. It also prevents the air pressure within the bladder from being fully transferred to the outer covering defined by the panel sections and seams.
The outer covering provides durability and protection. It is common to use synthetic materials to make the panel sections. However, the highest quality balls use top-grain leather.
Over the years, ball manufacturers have designed balls having different versions of multi-layered carcasses and outer coverings. For one reason or another, these designs have not reached or survived in the marketplace.
One ball design developed in the past by the A.G. Spalding Co. ("Spalding design") includes a layer of cellular sponge material positioned between what is characterized as an "inner carcass" and outer skin. This design is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,618 ("'618 patent").
The Spalding design lacks the black rubber layer described above for creating raised seams. Although not described in the '618 patent, the sponge layer was probably created by techniques similar to the ones used today: a thin layer of foamable rubber is expanded into a cellular sponge layer after application of a chemical foaming agent and heat. This process creates a significant amount of outgassing during the foaming process.
Outgassing may have prevented Spalding from producing a seamed ball having a sponge layer underlying the outer covering. Or if it was attempted to make a seamed ball using the Spalding design, it is possible that raised seams were made from the material making up the sponge layer in the same way the seams are currently made from the high density black rubber layer of winding, as described above. If so, sponge layer seams would be ragged and not wear well. In any event, the Spalding design appears to lack raised, high density rubber seams in combination with a sponge layer. The net effect is that the Spalding design does not appear to duplicate the "look" of a high quality basketball.
The invention disclosed and claimed here is similar to but constitutes an improvement over the Spalding design. That is to say, the present invention is a "padded" game ball whose outer appearance is the same as present day high quality basketballs. The padded feature produces a ball having superior characteristics over and above conventionally made high quality balls.